View Single Post
Old 09-29-09 | 04:20 PM
  #5  
Gonzo Bob's Avatar
Gonzo Bob
cycles per second
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,968
Likes: 181
From: Minnesota

Bikes: Early 1980's Ishiwata 022 steel sport/touring, 1986 Vitus 979, 1988 DiamondBack Apex, 1997 Softride PowerWing 700, 2001 Trek OCLV 110

The smallest ring for 130mm BCD is 38.

Shimano specs are conservative and you can exceed the 45 max capacity by a few teeth. I've exceeded mine by 4 without any issues (could still get big/big and could still run small/small without chain slack). However, if you do exceed max capacity, pay close attention to chain length because there will be less room for error. The longer chain does not nullify the max capacity unless you have something else taking up chain slack.

A lot of newer triple front derailers also have a min difference between top two rings. Usually 10 or 12. This is because the inner cage plate is quite a bit lower than the outer and will hit the inner ring if the two are too close in size. This means you probably don't want to go smaller than 48 for your big ring.

Shifts from 24 to 39 will be a bit sluggish but will work. Shifts from 39 to 24 will work but you may drop the chain more often. You may want to get a chain watcher if dropping the chain will cause issues and you have a place to mount it.
Gonzo Bob is offline  
Reply